Kevin Spacey: 'Seven serial killer came out the winner'

Kevin Spacey was attracted to the dangerous script of 1995 thriller Seven film.

Kevin Spacey accepted the serial killer role in Seven because for once his co-stars Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt come last in a movie.

The American actor sent chills down people's spine in the 1995 thriller as a murderer who uses the seven deadly sins as inspiration for his kills. Morgan and Brad play detectives looking into the case, but unlike many movies in the same genre, the good guys failed to prevail against Kevin's evil alter ego John Doe, making the part even more enticing to him.

"I liked it because it was such a dangerous script and showed just what human beings are capable of," Kevin told Interview magazine. "Here was a movie in which Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, who always win in every movie they ever do, simply don't win. I felt that was outrageous for a commercial movie. I think what was ultimately scary about it was that people thought that some of the things my character was talking about were right, although they wouldn't have if I'd sat drooling in the back seat of the (detectives') car."

That's not to say the project wasn't a "frightening" experience for the 57-year-old, and he credits the role for taking him down a dark path. Kevin doesn't want to repeat himself on the silver screen though after playing a string of complex characters over the years, including corrupt U.S. president Frank Underwood in House of Cards and criminal in The Usual Suspects. He still wants to be intrigued by the parts offered to him, but keeps in mind what audiences want too.

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to go off and do really bad romantic comedies," he added.

Kevin has also dipped his toes into comedy over the years, most notably in the Horrible Bosses movies, but his latest film Nine Lives is arguably the most quirky to date. He plays a businessman who is transformed into a cat by a magical pet shop owner (Christopher Walken), after he fails to appreciate his family. It's out in the U.S. on 5 August (16) and U.K. on 12 August.